Elevating Comfort Food: comme Ça

BY RICHARD ANDREOLI

Look around Los Angeles and you’ll find scores of restaurants serving up fancy steak sliders, mac and cheese, and chicken strips. This desire for elegant comfort food is no surprise, but the trend has become so common that it’s no longer special. Enter comme Ça, David Meyers’ new digs on Melrose across from Lucques and Ago, where this French brasserie’s neighborhood feel and delicious cuisine is reinventing classic comfort for the city.

Behind comme Ça’s large front windows is the cheese counter, where a fromage fanatic creates flavorful combinations for diners throughout the restaurant. On the opposite wall is the raw bar with chefs assembles fresh oyster platters, while in between these two points are the no-reservations bistro tables for diners sipping on signature cocktails or French and American wines (135 by the bottle, 30 by the glass). The remainder of the restaurant, where they do take reservations, is filled with butcher paper-covered tables and white chairs that stretch through multiple rooms and make the space feel expansive.

The menu, created by Myers and chef Michael David (from New York’s Daniel, Café Boulud and DB Bistro Moderne), is pure brasserie fare, but if you’re unaccustomed to these dishes don’t feel alienated. The menu is very accessible and the staff is happy to offer suggestions.

For starters, the soupe a l’oignon gratinée (onion soup with melted gruyere), the classic salade frisée aux lardons (frisée salad with a poached egg that breaks open and mixes nicely with the salad’s warm bacon vinaigrette), or the smoked salmon with crème fraîche are all tops. Definitely move past your childish fears and sample the escargot, which is slightly chewy, served in garlic butter, and completely delicious.

For main dishes, the daily specials are all good, though Tuesday’s braised veal shank and Saturday’s pork belly are favorites. There’s also the coq au vin (chicken cooked in white wine), bouillabaisse (fish stew), crispy skate in brown butter with lemon and capers, and an incredible duck confit that is moist and wonderful. That all said, don’t miss the perfectly prepared steak and frites; the meat is tender and juicy, and while some diners have described the fries as too salty, we couldn’t get enough of them. Finally, desserts hail from Boule on La Cienge (also owned by Meyers and his wife, Michelle), but we opted for a decadent cheese plate instead.

Keep in mind that comme Ça is not a quiet experience. On any given night, the place is packed by 8 p.m. and vibrant dinner conversations echo off the dark wood floors and chalk white walls. But it’s that need to lean in and share food, drink, laughter, and conversation that creates a festive energy about the space. It makes you feel like you’re part of something larger, something fun, and something that has been missing from the L.A. food scene for a long time.

vital info

comme Ça
8479 Melrose Ave.
323/782-1178
www.commecarestaurant.com
Cuisine French Brasserie

The Scene Casually comfortable breakfast and lunch scene opens to a bustling (but curiously mixed) dinner crowd of foodies, artists, and Hollywood power players

Must Try Any shellfish from the raw bar or a 5-piece selection from the cheese bar

Average Cost $40 per person for dinner, sans alcohol

HOT PLATES

Killer Shrimp: Either you love it or you hate it but those fanatic fans of Killer Shrimp have been known to travel for miles just to get a bowl of the incredible Cajun inspired spicy broth covering Louisiana shrimp. (Some have even spent years trying to figure out the secret recipe to the base.) Shrimp is it. Just as the name proudly pronounces, that’s what they serve. Sure, there is a Caesar salad on the menu but it’s all about the shrimp, served with or without rice, and the dipping bread. Be warned, however, this shrimp is not for the faint of heart. It’s wickedly spicy. And after you are finished, don’t miss the pecan pie with the homemade whipped cream. It’s equally worthy of a long trek across Los Angeles. 4000 COLFAX AVENUE. L-D DAILY (818) 508-1570 CAJUN $$

Fred 62: If a diner could go on a world tour to experience other cultures, and maybe soak up a little sophistication to accent a sense of kitschy whimsy— the result would be Fred 62. Not your momma’s 1950s greasy spoon by any stretch, Fred 62 takes all the relevant bits of a diner, including the slick décor, and goes contemporary with menu items straight out of your wildest food binges—think corn flake-crusted French toast and pop tart a la mode. For the less manic moments, the extensive menu includes curve balls such as a tour through Asia with various noodle dishes and a Thai spin on the Cobb salad. The crowd is one of the most mixed you’ll see in L.A. with everyone from clean cut corporate types to the distinctly subculture, artistic souls.1850 N Vermont Ave. B-L-D Daily 323/667-0062 Diner $

Honey: Nestled into the lobby of The Avalon sits an indulgent dining experience aptly named Honey. Chandelier-drenched and leather-clad, the intimate restaurant is Hollywood excess in every sense without the devastating price tag. Enjoy such delights as New Orleans-style crab cakes or Baba Ganoush to start. The entrée to absolutely not miss is the Seared Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken over Grilled Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus in a Marsala wine reduction. Later in the evening, the restaurant converts to a lounge atmosphere serving small plates and other favorites for the professional night owl to feast upon. 1733 N. Vine St D Nightly 323/462-3000 American $$

Bank Heist: Tucked inside an historic structure built in 1926 by the same architects responsible for the glorious Union Station is the latest trend in entertainment. By day, this brick building is The Bank, a darling 1920s-inspired café serving everything from tacos to curried chicken salad sandwiches. Serving an eclectic mix of food, though often traditional American diner fare dressed up with some style, the menu is still in flux as they experiment with what works and what doesn’t. At night the entire upstairs of the same building becomes The Heist, a glamorous lounge serving single plate appetizers along with varied themed evenings of entertainment. 5303 Lankershim Blvd. B-L-D Daily 818/760-1648 American $$

Craft: High-powered movers and shakers in and around Century City are abuzz about the NYC sensation Craft arriving here in Los Angeles. Craft features a seasonal American menu with lunch and dinner in a la cart form and a sexy lounge menu with nods to the cuisine of various cultures. Set in a sleek, East Coast inspired interior and offering abundant outdoor seating overlooking a lush park, Craft is full of power brokers and those few hip souls on the cutting edge of glamour partaking of sublime Wagyu steaks for worshippers of the meat and exotic mushroom sides—Chanterelles, Trompette Royale and Matsutake to name a few. 10100 Constellation Blvd. L-D Daily 310/279-4180 American $$$$

Amaranta: The newly opened Amaranta has taken Mexican cuisine to sexy, elegant new heights. Set in a stylish venue sporting pinks instead of the expected garish primary colors or drab browns, the atmosphere is but a foreshadowing of the wonders to come. A seasonal menu with fresh ingredients offers traditional, familiar dishes with haute cuisine twists. And the presentation is nothing less than art. You won’t find plates slopped together with the usual entrée huddled between overflowing pools of rice and beans. Not to be missed are the over 400 kinds of tequila, which you can try out once a month at special tastings. 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd. L-D Daily 818/610-3599 Mexican $$$

WHERE TO EAT

Coast at Shutters on the Beach

In Southern California, many of us practically grow up on the beach, and in our youth, it seemed one could never get decent food and a good view at the same time. It’s nice to see establishments like Coast at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica bucking that trend, by offering a solid menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even brunch on the weekends, loaded with American favorites like mac and cheese, but given variety and flair by items like grilled swordfish with garlic broccoini, and the best guacamole and warm tortilla chips this side of the Rio Grande. Coast also serves up a mean plate of plump, briny oysters, and has a dungeness crabcake appetizer that is the best I’ve had in L.A. Sweet, light, and casual, Coast is establishing a new standard for beachside fare. ONE PICO BLVD. SANTA MONICA. B-L-D DAILY 310/587-1707 AMERICAN SEAFOOD $ —VICTORIA LANE